Bitcoin (BTC) turned down sharply on April 21, maintaining its tight correlation with the U.S. equity markets, which reversed direction after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinted that a 50 basis point rate hike was “on the table” in May. The selling has continued on April 22 as investors trim risky assets in expectation of an aggressive stance from central banks to curb surging inflation.
Veteran trader Peter Brandt said in a tweet recently that the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) was showing a formation similar to the one it had made before plunging in the year 2000.
If history repeats itself then the NDX could witness a sharp correction. That may be negative for the crypto markets in the short term because of the close correlation between Bitcoin and the NDX.
The subdued price action in cryptocurrencies and the weak-macro environment have resulted in reduced Google searches for the term Bitcoin and Ethereum. Even crypto trading volumes have been in a declining trend for some time. According to Blockchain.com, the total exchange volumes on major crypto exchanges plunged to $165.8 billion on April 19, the lowest level since October 2020.
Could Bitcoin and altcoins continue their downward move or is it time for a relief rally? Let’s study the charts of the top-10 cryptocurrencies to find out.
Bitcoin broke above the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) ($41,977) on April 21 but the bulls could not sustain the higher levels as seen from the long wick on the day’s candlestick. The price reversed direction from $42,976 and settled below the 20-day exponential moving average (EMA) ($41,478).
The selling has continued on April 22 and the bears are attempting to pull the price down to the support line of the ascending channel pattern.
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